Put your imagination to good work
by R'Peach
Summary: Who has a habit of imagining different outcomes to past events? Wouldn't you like to know...


Hello dearies! This is my first attempt at a Captain Swan fanfiction. I hope you enjoy yourself, and that it gives you many CS feelings ;)

May this ship sail forever! *

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**Put your imagination to good work | A Captain Swan tale**

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The most unexpected moments in your life are the ones that end up being constantly on your mind. You are surprised by them, good or bad. They leave a mark on you, a sign that somehow your life changed because of something you had not predicted. You can say that your imagination is faulty regarding this. After all, you take those moments; you remember them, piece by piece, second by second, word by word. But in the end, you don't rely only on what truly happened. You end up creating different possibilities of outcomes in your head. What would have happened if… The answers your brain comes up with are the most ridiculous or the most perfect ones. And you torture yourself for not remembering that specific and perfect answer or action. Surely it would have made everything easier for you…

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Emma has had this kind of conflicts since she can remember. Maybe, if she was a little better behaved, her foster families would never give her away. Maybe, if she had been a little more careful, she wouldn't trust blindly in a man who ended up leaving her alone, pregnant. Maybe, if she had a little bit of trust in herself she wouldn't have given up her son, and love would finally be a normal feeling in her life. If maybe, just maybe!

That's why she didn't find it odd when her imagination started working in overdrive regarding some recent events.

The first one of a certain pirate… Well, she chained him, after he helped her. It was something Emma did out of fear. Fear of trusting someone who, right from the beginning, showed an interest in her, as a woman. The last two times it'd happened resulted in heartbreak. One man leaving her, the other dying on her. Who could blame her? No one… But herself. Because you see, Emma put her imagination into work after those cursed words came out of Hooks lips – "Actually, no". She saw the pain in his eyes, just like when she left him with the giant, squeezing her heart with regret. This feeling surprised her and made her wonder. What would have happened if Hook came down that damned beanstalk with her? The answer she came up with was ridiculously perfect. Because, deep inside, her conscience insisted that he would have stayed, by her side, helping her. This, by the way, would seriously make their life easier while in the Enchanted Forest. After all, Cora wouldn't have the means to attack them the way she did. Hooks motivation after being betrayed by Emma (yes, betrayal is the right word for what she did and she knew that) was magnified. So Emma found herself wondering, maybe if she trusted him, the only magnified actions taken by Hook would be the efforts he had to make to get them all to Storybrooke. He would have been a fantastic ally… Maybe…

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Something similar happened to Emma when she found Hook, lying on the asphalt, after being hit by a car. He was there, right in front of her. She thought her last memory of him would be in the Enchanted Forest, after she knocked him out. And here he was, surprising her again… Making her create a mind scenario where Hook would be in good health and calling her beautiful with a sweet and somewhat flirty smile, instead of a suffering one. Her guilty conscience took charge, and she found herself trying to protect him from Mr. Gold at all costs. She hid him in the hospital, and she went on a painful journey because his life was threatened. Her conscience was quite sure none of this would have happened if she had just brought him with them through the Portal, as a way of apologizing and making everything right. Yes, her imagination did a better job at ruling her life than herself…

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When she saw his ship coming back, she knew her mind would be paralyzed for a few moments. She needed to truly see, hear and feel Hooks presence next to her to believe he actually turned around, just to give them their best chance at succeeding, even if that chance failed. He was actually putting her, and everyone else, first. And she was shocked. Hook was…Unpredictable. They had to go through a fair amount of magic in order to save the city, because the bean was taken by him. But she couldn't find herself angry at the man standing in front of her. She knew... This was the best proof of all. She knew that if she had trusted him right from the beginning, he would have never left her side... Because even now, after all the bad form between them, he still came back to her.

And now, here they are, working together as a team in Neverland, a land he vowed to never come back, in order to save _her_ son. They came back to their beginning point, and Emma decided she would not make the same mistakes she did back when they first met. So now, you see Emma trusting Hook, putting her faith on him, believing his insights on the situation, and blindly following him wherever he goes. And guess what? She has yet to be disappointed! She has yet to fail, because all the steps she took, she took them with his guidance. The pirate she mistrusted and hurt some time ago, was proving at each second to be a man worth believing in.

In a moment of pure and raw emotion, she kissed him. It was… Blissful heaven and she had deserved it. She let herself truly feel for the first time in months. If this kiss had happened back in the Enchanted Forest or in Storybrooke, Emma was positive she would have run away, ignoring that something had even transpired between them. But, not now… Now she would just accept and feel good about it.

Of course this attitude could have been completely shattered by discovering Neal was still alive. But Emma didn't feel the need to push the kiss behind her back, she actually felt compelled to tell her _mother_ about it. Where was the guilt she expected to feel? Nowhere in sight, apparently.

Back in the Echo Cave, Hook had managed to surprise her, again! He just kept doing that…His feelings were out in the open… He took the first step (to save the first man she loved) by revealing his darkest secret, and the Cave reacted because he was honest. And again, her mind did its job by making her imagine a completely different confession. A confession with his eyes filled with happiness and hope, instead of pain and regret, afraid that he was making her suffer even more.

Reality brought her out of her reverie.

Emma was… Shocked, but not surprised…? Does that even make sense? She was shocked because it was sudden. She was not expecting him to reveal such deep feelings, but she couldn't find herself doubting they were real… She wouldn't doubt, even they were out of this Cave… And that certainty made her a little scared. She knew she trusted Hook regarding his actions. What she hadn't realized was that, somehow, she came to trust his sincerity regarding his own feelings… And also, that it felt right to believe him that way.

Her unexpected realization was confirmed when he told her he would not give up fighting for her… And she had no doubts that he _would_ win her heart.

Maybe, unknowingly for both of them, he already had… Maybe…

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So, this is it my fellow CS shippers! :)

Feedback is like a coconut...! \(^,^)/


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